A heating register is a device for heating a room, made of horizontally located one or more smooth-walled pipes, communicating with each other through vertical connections. Traditionally, heating registers are used to heat non-residential premises - a warehouse, a garage, a workshop - but they also found application in residential ones. These heaters are used in rooms with strict cleanliness requirements - their smooth surfaces are easy to clean and wash. Heating registers have various modifications that differ in design, shape and material.
Types of registers
Parallel connected pipes, which represent a heating register, differ in material and design.
Aluminum
Lightweight and aesthetically pleasing aluminum heating registers are among the most efficient in terms of heat transfer. Due to their low weight and size, corrosion resistance and a long period of operation, they are successfully used in private houses and office buildings.
Such registers are not widely used due to their high cost and increased requirements for the quality of the coolant.
Cast iron
Heating systems made of finned cast iron pipes have the best heat transfer performance. A thick-walled pipe with a large number of ribs effectively gives off heat and cools down for a long time.
The installation of cast iron finned systems is carried out using bolts and paronite or rubber gaskets to impart tightness.
This is one of the best ways to solve the problem of heating a private house - cast iron is not picky about the quality of the coolant, its service life is practically unlimited.
Cons of this design:
- bulky view;
- significant weight;
- the need to manufacture massive support posts;
- fragility.
Cast iron registers have long been used in industrial boiler houses and private houses, their popularity has not diminished over time.
Copper
In networks with copper pipe wiring, it is effective to manufacture a copper register. Due to the high thermal conductivity of copper, such heating elements have a small size and a beautiful appearance.
Copper pipes are easily bent and welded only at the joints.
Copper heating systems have not become widespread due to their criticality to operating conditions:
- the coolant must be chemically neutral, clean and free of solid fraction;
- the heat supply system, including fittings, must be all made of copper or compatible alloys - bronze, brass, chromium and nickel;
- reinforced grounding is necessary - otherwise corrosion will begin;
- Copper is a soft material and requires a protective shield or casing.
All this creates a high price and explains the lack of increased demand for copper registers.
Steel
For the most part, heating registers are made of smooth steel pipes. Preference is given to electric-welded or water-gas supply types.The pipeline made of them withstands significant pressure, is resistant to mechanical damage and is undemanding to the quality of the coolant.
For the manufacture of a heating system, you can use a round or profile pipe. The heater will turn out to be more compact in size, but it is much more difficult to work with it, the hydraulic resistance is higher.
The register made of steel pipes can be made of stainless steel - these types of heaters are optimal in bathrooms. Stainless steel towel warmers come in a variety of sizes and configurations. The only drawback of registers made of stainless steel pipes is the high price.
Stationary and mobile registers
If the heating system is stationary, a heating boiler is required for its operation, where the coolant is heated.
Such stationary systems are fastened using brackets fixed to the walls. For massive systems, a combined form of fastening is used - in addition to fixing on the wall, support posts are placed under the lower pipes.
In the case of a mobile version, a heating element is mounted in the lower part of the system, which acts as a heater. An expansion tank with a capacity of 10% of the system volume is located in the upper one, taking into account the increase in internal pressure during heating.
It is optimal to use oil or antifreeze as a coolant in mobile heaters - they do not freeze at low temperatures.
The structure is connected to a 220 V network and is equipped with supporting legs or wheels for ease of installation and movement.
Advantages and disadvantages
Like any device, metal heating registers have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Benefits:
- Provides uniform heating of rooms with a large area.
- Low hydraulic resistance in smooth horizontally arranged media allows the use of a natural circulation system without using pumping.
- Large diameter pipes used for heating are less susceptible to siltation and do not require flushing.
- The service life of metal registers is over 25 years.
- The surface of round pipelines is slightly dirty and easy to clean - this is the best choice of heating for rooms with increased requirements for sanitary standards.
- The heating register is easy to manufacture and can be made by hand at home.
Disadvantages:
- The heating surface per unit length is small, which leads to an increase in overall dimensions.
- Requires a lot of pipes.
- The system requires a large displacement of the coolant, due to which the system has high inertia and slow regulation.
- Budget models are outwardly unattractive, and design developments are distinguished by a high price.
Features of heating registers of simple design with good performance determine their scope.
Calculation of the required number of registers for heating
Before proceeding with the calculations, you should decide on the temperature regime you need in the room and the heat loss in it. This will determine the size of the heating register.
Such a heating system is made according to drawings from pipes with a diameter of 32 to 100 mm. An increase in the diameter of the pipeline naturally leads to an increase in the volume of the system and its increased inertia, difficulty in adjustment.
If there is more than one pipe in the register, the distance between them is determined as follows:
- not less than 1.5 of the radius of the pipe, otherwise heat transfer decreases;
- an increase in the distance between horizontal carriers will lead to an increase in overall dimensions, which is inconvenient in installation and operation.
The heat transfer of one pipe can be calculated independently by substituting the dimensions of the pipe and temperature data in the formula:
Q = 3.14 D L K (Tr - To)
- Q - the amount of heat generated by the pipe;
- D - diameter, m;
- L - length, m;
- K - the heat transfer coefficient for a steel pipe and water (heat carrier) is 11.3 W / m² · ° С;
- Tr - water temperature in the register;
- To - room temperature.
You can calculate the register based on the average heat transfer value of 1 m of a steel pipe at a water temperature of + 90 ° C and an indoor temperature of + 20 ° C.
As an example:
- with d 35 mm, the area will be 0.56 m2;
- with d 57 mm - 0.94 m²;
- with d 89 mm - 1.37 m².
Knowing the heat transfer of 1 m of the pipe and the area of your room, you can calculate the required number of pipes.
For registers with two or more rows, a reduction factor of 0.9 is used for each thread.
Setting registers
Installation of a heating system with registers is not difficult. For convenience, all elements of the system are harvested and welded outdoors. Further assembly can be done using welds or threaded connections, but this is less reliable.
An air vent must be installed on the upper pipe of the heating register to bleed air from the system.
Ready-made registers are attached to the wall or placed on a support. For massive products, you can use the combined method - brackets and stands. To improve the heating of the room, the register is fixed as low as possible to the floor.
To ensure the movement of the coolant, the installation is carried out with a slope of 0.05% towards the fluid flow.
DIY making
To assemble the register yourself, you need to be at least a good welder. For homemade radiators, calculations and drawings are not needed, high-quality welding is needed.
One of the popular models is the "samovar". It is a portable register filled with oil or antifreeze. A heating element operating from 220 V is inserted into the lower pipe, an expander is welded into the upper pipe. As long as there is electricity, this system will successfully heat the room.
There are many heating systems, all have their pros and cons. In comparison with the indicators of a bimetallic battery, the registers lose in many ways. But due to the low price and good heat transfer, they will be in demand on the heat engineering market for a long time.
